Portable bath-chamber



UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

JAMES N. LEE, OF NATOHITOOHES, LOUISIANA.

PORTABLE BATH-CHAMBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 232,731, datedSeptember 28, 1880.

Application filed January 22, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES N. LEE, of Natchitoches, in the parish ofNatchitoches and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and ImprovedPortable Bath Chamber, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved portablechamber for hotair, vapor, warm-water, and similar baths.

The invention consists of a portable bathchamber formed of a detachabletop and of sides made with sections hinged to each other, provided withdoors having glass lights and openings for stove-pipes, the wholeresting on a base-frame provided with a stove or furnace for heating thechamber.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of myimproved bath-chamber. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional elevation of the sameon the line 00 m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the slides forclosing the aperture through which the stove-pipe passes.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts.

The chamber A is built upon a base-frame, B, strengthened at the cornersby an gle-plates O, and provided with a slatted floor, D, made in two ormore sections and resting'upon the upper edge of the base-frame B. Ahorizontal stove or flue, E, passes through the base-frame B and issupported by a stirrup-iron, F, and is so formed that the fire can bearranged in or adjoining the end Gr, and the smoke can pass off at theend H, which is connected with a stove-pipe or some other suitablesimilar dev1ce.

The chamber A is formed of four sections, J, J J and J each consistingof two wide boards or wings, L, mitered at the adjoining edges andhinged to each other by means oi the hinges I I, and each wing havingone wing, K, of a door hinged thereto. Each wing L is provided with astaple, M, at the lower inner end, corresponding in position to a numberof hooks, N, on a row of cleats, O 0, arranged a short distance from theedge of the slatted floor D. The root of the chamber is formed of two ormore sections, P P, provided on the under side with two rows of cleats,Q Q, into the space between which the upper edges of the wings L L pass.

The roof'sections are united with each other by means of the staples R Rand the hooks S S.

One of the door-wings K is provided with a window, T, and another with arow of hinged shutters, U, arranged above each other. A number of hingedshutters, V, opening toward the inside, are also arranged near the edgeof one of the roof-sections P. A perforated angleplate, W, is arrangedon each side of the hinged shutters V, on the upper side of theroofsection P, and a number of recessed-plates, Y, are fastened to theseangle plates by means of small rods Z, which pass through the plate Yand through the perforations a in the angle-plates W.

The several parts of which the chamber is constructed may be plain orpaneled, and the several edges are preferably rabbeted to give a betterand closer-fitting joint.

The sections J, J J and J may be interchanged among each other, and thedoorwings K K likewise.

The chamber is built up in the" following manner: The base-frame B isplaced upon the floor at the desired place where the chamber is to be.used. The slatted floor D is then placed onto the same, and the sectionsJ, J

J and J 4 are placed on the floor in avertical position, the lower innerend of the same resting against the outer edge of the cleats O. Thesections are then secured to the cleats by means of the hooks andstaples N and M, and the door-win gs K K are hung onto the respectivehinges. The roof is then placed on top of the side walls so formed, theup perledge of the walls passing into the space between the cleats Q Q.The end H of the flue E is then connected with a stove-pipe, and asuitable fire is placed into or before the end G, and the chamber is nowready for use. In case it is desired to heat the chamber by means ofafixed stove that is in the room, this can be easilyaccomplished withoutdetaching the stove-pipe by building up the chamber below the stove-pipeor around the stove in such a manner that the stove-pipe fits into therecess that is formed if all the folding shutters U U in the door-win gK are opened. The stove-pipe can pass out through a slot formed in thesame manner in one of the roof-sections P by opening all the foldingshutters V V. The shutters U U and 5 V V are then closed, so that thereis only space enough for the stove-pipe to pass through; but as theshutters are square there would be a space surrounding the stove-pipethrough which the warm air could pass out of the chamber, and to avoidthis, and to prevent the pipe from coming in contact with the wood, theplates Y Y are adjusted so on the two angle-plates W W that thestove-pipe is embraced by two overlapping plates, Y Y, as shown in Fig.3, thus forming a close tight joint. The same arrangement may be appliedon the door provided with the folding shutters. This bath-chamber can bebuilt up in any room, can surround the bed in which the patient isresting without disturbing the latter, can be built up, taken down, andtransported without any exertion, and can be used for hotair,warm-water, or similar baths. A great advantage is that the heat emittedby an ordinary stove, or pipe thereof, can be easily utilized withoutdetaching any parts of the pipe.

As there may be any desired number of folding shutters U U and V Varranged in the roof-section or door, the various different forms andpositions of the stove-pipes do not cause any difficulties.

As the sections J J J 3 J 4 are interchangeable, the window or the doorwith the folding shutters may be arranged at any side of the chamber.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A portable bath-chamber made, substantially asherein shown and described, of a detachable top and of sides made withsections hinged to each other, provided with doors having glass lightsand openings for stovepipes, the whole resting on a base-frame providedwith a stove or furnace for heating the chamber, as set forth.

2. In a portable bath-chamber, the combination, with the hinged shuttersV V, of the adjustable slotted plates Y Y, substantially as herein shownand described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a bathchamber, the section J, consistin g of the combination ofthe hinged wings L L with the two door-wings K K, substantially asherein shown and described, which section may be interchanged with otherlike sections, thus permitting the door provided with the window orfolding shutter to be arranged at any desired side of the chamber, asset forth.

JAMES NAPOLEON LEE.

Witnesses:

J ULEs J ANIN, H. P. BRENZEULE.

